Friday, January 27, 2017

Assistants: Mr Le Pen has 4 days to pay 300 000 euros in the EU – The Express

In the controversy, suspicions of jobs fictitious parliamentary assistants, François Fillon is not the only one. The national Front, which is well kept to titillate the candidate of the right on this issue, is for several months in the viewfinder of the european Parliament for having paid two assistants who would not have actually worked in France. A survey was conducted by the european anti-fraud Office (Olaf).

READ more >> Jobs fictitious parliamentary assistant FN: “I have never set foot in Brussels,”

The magazine Challenge revealed Thursday that since the beginning of December, the president of FN, Marine Le Pen, has received two collection letters drafted by the european Parliament. They both claim nearly 340 000 euros, representing the amounts granted by the EU to the mep frontiste, to pay his two assistants, whose work is now put in question by the institution.

No proof of residence in Belgium

The first letter, dated 9 December, concerning the case of Catherine Griset. According to a source parliamentary, the chief of staff of Marine Le Pen has been accredited at the european Parliament between December 2010 and February 2016, but in reality, it was not working in the premises of the institution.

According to Klaus Welle, the secretary general of the Parliament to the origin of the letters, “Ms. Griset, whose contract stipulated as the place of work Brussels, has not been able to demonstrate that she resided continuously or with a character standing in Belgium, nor that she was a regular at his place of work”. In its letter to Marine Le Pen, it is also a reminder to european legislation: “The amounts paid to members of parliament, notably in respect of the parliamentary assistance, are reserved exclusively to the financing of activities related to the exercise of the mandate of deputies.”

parliamentary Assistant and body guard

Challenges argues that the financial recovery the respect should start from the 1st of February. In its letter, the european Parliament stressed that Catherine Griset had “recognized activity” at the headquarters of the national Front in france, the party headed by Marine Le Pen, under the direct authority of the latter. It requests the mep to repay 298 400 euros unduly paid.

Thierry Légier is the second wizard affected by this procedure. Accredited to the EU Parliament in 2011, he was the body guard of Marine Le Pen. In a letter sent in mid-January, the Parliament calls for the patron saint of the FN 41 500 euros it would have paid to this man, drawing on the funds of the european institutions. “Ms. Le Pen did not provide any element useful to confirm the regularity of the expenditure reimbursed under the parliamentary assistance of Mr. Légier,” notes Klaus Welle, in his second letter. According to Challenges, the second ultimatum of recovery is set to February 28.

50% of the benefits of Marine Le Pen threatened

According to a source parliamentary, if Marine Le Pen does not do these two recoveries in the required time frame, or the end of the month for the amounts relating to Catherine Griset, she could lose half of his or her compensation to mep. In the clear, it would remove 3100 euros on the 6200 euros of compensation it receives each month, and that would remove its 4300 euros for general expenses, and until you have paid the full amount requested. And if she does not pay in time, the president of the FN will also be subject to interest, according to Klaus Welle.

at the End of October, the lawyer of the latter had reacted to the controversy about it in denouncing a “maneuver” to “interfere with the action of Ms. Le Pen in the european Parliament”. With Challenge, the lawyer assures him of never having received the report of the european anti-fraud Office. He also criticized “the partisan political character of the action brought against Marine Le Pen.